New Enemies of Society

“New Enemies of Society” is a provocative series of paintings and prints inspired by the quiet panic of modern living — a world where pleasure has become suspect, nourishment is politicised, and even the simplest elements of life carry warning labels.

In this collection, I look at the ordinary things that once sustained us: bread, sunlight, fresh air, water, fish from the sea. I look at the conveniences and materials we created: plastics, oils, packaged things, processed things. I even look at the abstractions we built entire cultures around — money, masculinity, security, purity. All of them, in their own way, have been rebranded as threats. Instead of feeding us, they now feed our anxiety.

The abundance of information meant to protect us has slipped into overpressure, leaving us unsure of what is genuinely good. Each decision is accompanied by guilt, each indulgence shadowed by the thought that we are doing something wrong. Even the sun has a hazard rating. Even water can be “unsafe.” Air must be purified, food dissected. Pleasure is constantly negotiated.

“New Enemies of Society” is not a rejection of knowledge, but a critique of the way fear has replaced joy. It is about the impossibility of purity, the weight of wellness culture, and the longing for a moment of unthinking pleasure — to eat, to breathe, to bask in sunlight without a sense of trespass.

It is an invitation to reconsider our relationship with the things that sustain us, to question the narratives that demonise the ordinary, and to perhaps reclaim a little of the uncomplicated delight of simply being alive.